


Age with Grace

by forever_and_always



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Pack Feels, Pregnancy, Rebuilt Hale House, Season/Series 03, Weddings, minor original character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-20 04:25:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/882917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forever_and_always/pseuds/forever_and_always
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sound of footsteps snapped Stiles back to reality. Scott burst out from the trees and rushed towards him.</p><p>“Stiles!” He grabbed his wrist and started running back the way he came.</p><p>Stiles slowed down. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“Umm…” Scott stopped and turned around. “We found the girl, but there’s a problem. We have to hurry.”</p><p>or</p><p>The story of how everyone (eventually) got their happy ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Just the Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first chapter is a bit darker than the rest of the story.

Stiles’ life was weird. Not in the hyperactive-gangly-limbed-awkward-child-at-heart way, but in the friends-with-a-bunch-of-werewolves-and-occasionally-fights-supernatural-creatures type of weird. The fact that Stiles was prone to trouble and the weirdness that came with it tended not to faze him a lot anymore either. After taking care of the Alpha pack, the Durach, the whole begin possessed by ancient evil trickster spirit, and any other problematic occurrence that happened junior year, the rest of high school and college was a breeze. The occasional monster did put a kink in his plans for a normal life, but he knew his life would forever be far from normal.

But by far the craziest thing to happen to Stiles so far was Derek Hale. Not even Scott, his best friend and a werewolf, falling in love in love with Allison, a pretty badass Hunter, came even close to Derek on the weird scale. Words could hardly describe Derek at times, and Stiles had a pretty vast vocabulary. First Derek was all death glares and really into slamming people into walls, then he slowly turned friendlier in a grumpy Derek sort of way.

But then he and Cora left after Deucalion. Stiles didn’t realize how accustomed he had gotten to Derek's presence until he was gone. But Derek eventually came back to Beacon Hills again (even if it was his fifteen year old self), until all the problems were fixed, everything was back to normal, and he felt the need to leave again. 

A rogue faerie reeking havoc on the innocent people of Beacon Hills brought Derek back home. He hadn’t changed much in the few months he was gone. His beard just a tad longer. His face just a little bit sadder. Derek kept everyone at a distance. He was an alpha once again, but didn’t reveal how it happen. Derek did inform the pack that Cora was fine. She decided to rejoin the pack in Arizona that had taken her in after the Hale fire. Derek closed himself off and pushed everyone, especially Stiles, away. But as the months dealing with the faerie progress, the walls slowly fell and things between Derek and the teenagers grew into the resemblance of what their relationship was before.

Stiles was the only one who knew Derek hadn’t sold the loft. Derek had thanked him for keeping the dust from settling on all the furniture. Nobody realized Derek and Stiles had started to spend more and more time together away from the rest of the pack (though the group did start to notice the increase of drawn out stares while the other wasn’t watching).

Stiles was extremely confused about how felt about Derek by that point.

After his kiss with Lydia, Stiles realized his dream of being with her had changed. They worked too well as friends to mess it up with dating. Once he had finally abandoned his feelings for Lydia, somehow Derek found in way into his thoughts. And looking back at how Derek’s actions had changed towards Stiles, he believed there was a small chance that Derek could possible (like one in about ten billion) feel the same about him too.

Let it be Stiles’s luck that as he explores the idea of being with Derek, the man builds his walls back up. Every time he tried to help find the Faerie, or even just tried to talk to Derek, he would turn a cold shoulder and tell him to go home. Stiles thought they were at least past the whole “go home Stiles” thing. He didn't know at the time that Derek was simply trying to prevent Stiles from getting hurt.

But even with Derek’s efforts, Stiles didn't stay way from danger.

One brush with death later, Stiles and a certain Alpha realized the truth about each other's feelings. They were both hopelessly gone for each other.

Apparently there had been a bet in the pack. And Lydia won. Stiles wasn’t surprised. Not. One. Bit.

That was years ago, when Stiles was young (relatively), innocent (to a point), and about to go to college. Now, fast forwarded seven years to the present time, Stiles was taking a midnight stroll through the woods during a full moon. He was prepared; he had mountain ash in one pocket and powered wolfsbane in the other. It also just happened to be his twenty-fifth birthday. Derek felt bad about it; he even told Stiles that he had something special planned for the two of them. He said he could stay and send the rest of the pack away.

Full moon runs were one of the few things, besides the bi-monthly pack meeting and movie night, that kept the pack together when there wasn’t murderess creature running around. Though all the wolves in the pack had their anchors for resisting the shift on full moons, Stiles knew it would be unfair for them to have to sit around, so he gave them permission to go out. Derek looked slightly pained when he walked out the door but obeyed without argument. Stiles had to restrain from rolling his eyes when Lydia called out in her classic sing-song voice, “whipped”; although, Stiles had no reason to not agree with her.

He didn’t need ancient tomes about werewolf politics know what his relationship with Derek meant the rest of the pack; he and Derek were obviously mated. Stiles also knew he was going to punch the first person in the face who called him the "pack mom". It was comforting to know that he had almost as much power as Derek over the pack. The talk he later had with Derek about werewolves and mating traditions was almost as enjoyable as explaining to his father about werewolves in general. That particular conversation had lead to reveal that most of his friends were supernatural creatures, but at least having the Sheriff and Deputy Parrish at the station made it easier to cover up things. 

Surprisingly, the easiest conversation Stiles had with father involved telling him that he and Derek were dating. The Sheriff already trusted Derek with his son's life (and had his own bet with Melissa on when the two of them would finally get together). 

With the girls and with Danny, watching a movie safely tucked away at Derek’s loft (not that they were too fragile to go out during a full moon, but because one had a toddler that could shift into a baby werewolf at any moment, one was eight months pregnant, one just had a her nails done, and the lat one saw no point in running around in the woods in the middle of the night) and the werewolf portion of the pack running around chasing rabbits, or whatever they did on their runs, Stiles grabbed his coat, walked out the door, and headed to the preserve.

He hated to work when he was home from school and on his birthday, but potentially saving someone’s life couldn’t exactly wait.

That afternoon Allison told the pack about a Hunter from Oregon who was chasing a female Omega south who had just been spotted a few dozen miles from Beacon Hills. Derek promised they’d search that night for the Omega, and Stiles figured he could go out a look too. He wanted to find her before the Hunter managed to. Sometimes Stiles had to remind himself that not all Hunters were like Allison and her father.

Tracking the Omega alone in the woods gave Stiles time to think about anything and everything. School happened to pop into his head first. He was a handful of classes and a couple student teaching hours away from graduating from college, certified to teach kindergarten through sixth grade with a double minor in Literature and Mythology. Stiles could not tell everyone enough how he couldn’t wait for it all to be over with.

After high school, he had to defer from college for three semesters while he recovered from almost dying (the start of the Derek and Stiles relationship), and then almost dying again. Near death experiences had become quite common for the Hale pack in the last ten years and now Stiles prayed that nothing severe would happen until after he graduated. By the time he was fit to go to college, Stiles had completely rethought his plans for the future.

Everything was easy strolling until his father got shot on the job; Stiles was just happy that it hadn’t been caused by anything supernatural. He claimed a family emergency and took the rest of that semester off while he stayed with his dad in the hospital. Derek was the one to push Stiles back into school. Once, Stiles called to check in on his dad after class, and Derek made a witty remark about looking after his future father-in-law. 

Thinking about his father’s accident lead him into his next thinking spell. Family. And Derek. What did that comment mean? Future father-in-law. It always hung out in the back of his mind, teasing him at the most inconvenient times. And Derek said it over a year ago. Of course that wasn’t the only thing Derek joked about. When they became officially a couple, Stiles found out that Derek’s sarcasm rivaled Stiles’ at times.

The sound of footsteps him snapped Stiles back to reality. Scott burst out from the trees and rushed towards him.

“Stiles!” He grabbed his wrist and started running back the way he came.

Stiles slowed down. “What are you doing?”

“Umm…” Scott stopped and turned around. “We found the girl, but there’s a problem. We have to hurry.”

Stiles groaned but nodded, and the pair took off through the darkness. Thank God for the years of lacrosse and track which allowed him to at least keep up with his werewolf friends. After a mile or so, Scott and Stiles stopped at a small clearing. The pack was huddled around something at the far edge of the trees. Except for Isaac, who was standing to the side away from the rest of the pack. It almost looked like Isaac was gentle swaying side to side.

Derek turned to face Stiles and walked to his side. His head  was hung toward the ground the whole time.

Stiles looked around confused. “What’s the problem?”

“There was nothing we could do, Stiles. We found her too late. The wolfsbane reached her heart.” He met Stiles’ eyes.

“What?...who… What are you talking about?” Stiles marched to where most of the pack was kneeling.

He stumbled when he saw what they were gathered around.

Lying prone on her back was the wolf they were all trying to find. They were too late. Her stone white skin contrasted with the black etched into her veins and the dark curls that pillowed her head. Black blood oozed out of a bullet wound on her shoulder and from a deep gash across her lower abdomen.

Stiles felt his throat constricting. Even after all the death he’d seen, it was still hard to witness, especially death of innocent people. Derek must has sensed his distress because not even a second later, there was a warm hand on the small of his back. Stiles turned around and Derek wrapped his arm fully around him.

Derek pulled him closer and whispered, “We are going to find the monster that killed her. I promise, but for now we have to worry about th-”

“Derek!” Isaac twisted around and the others shot up off the ground. “Derek, something happened. She’s…she can’t breathe.”

“But I thought-” He was about to ask who they were talking when he saw what Isaac was holding.

Bundled in a spare t-shirt was a baby. His confusion was replaced by a mixture of panic and anger. “A baby? She was pregnant and the Hunter killed her?!”

Derek cupped his face and made Stiles look at him. “Stiles, you need to calm down. Yes, she was pregnant. It was too late to save the Omega when Isaac found her, but we managed to save her daughter. But there’s a good chance that the baby got poisoned too. I’m going to need you to come with Isaac and me to Deaton’s right now. Can you do that?”

Stiles breathed in deeply and nodded his head. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Good.” Then Derek addressed Scott, Boyd, and Ethan. “Take the girl’s body to the Hale house and give her a proper burial. She doesn’t deserve to be left out here.”

Derek flashed his red eyes and the Betas carried the young girl’s body out of the clearing. The wind picked up and Stiles realized how chilly it had gotten. He shrugged his jacket off and held it out in front of him. “Here. And we should take my jeep. It’ll be fast and it’s parked not too far away.”

Isaac grabbed the jacket and carefully wrapped it around the shirt covering the baby.

“We need to hurry.” Isaac’s eyes were pleading. 

Derek and Isaac followed Stiles until they reached the jeep parked along one of the dirt access roads that lead through the preserve. Stiles offered to hold the baby, but Isaac just pulled her closer. He didn’t say anything and tossed the keys to Derek before climbing in the back. Luckily, Stiles managed to get a hold of Deaton and quickly told him of the situation. He said he’d be waiting for them when they got to the vet’s.

Isaac became hysterical with panic when the baby stopped breathing altogether.


	2. Of Our New Beginning

Isaac nearly stopped breathing along with the baby in his arms. Derek had to growl at him, and Stiles was an inch away from slapping the back of his head when he shot out of the jeep. Derek had barely pulled into the parking spot when Isaac jumped out. Deaton was trying got get Isaac to calm down when Derek and Stiles rushed in the door.

“Ah, Stiles. I’ll need your help for this.” He gently took the baby from Isaac’s arms and walked to the back room.

“I uh…I take that as my cue to go help.” Stiles glanced at Isaac then back to Derek. “Please make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Right before Stiles got to the back room Derek called out, “I’m the Alpha, remember?”

“Yep. Sure you are.” Stiles couldn’t help the smirk that found its way onto his face.

It faded when Stiles entered the room. Deaton was hurrying around the room collecting his non-veterinarian tools from their hiding places. In a nest of white blanket on the examination table laid the newborn. Under the florescent bulbs, Stiles could see the ink black blood tinting her skin and the way her chest struggled to rise and fall.

“How long did she stop breathing for?”

“I don’t know. It couldn’t have been longer than a minute or two.”

“How old is she?”

“I really don’t know Deaton…but she couldn’t have been born more than thirty minutes ago.”  
“Thank you, Stiles. And don’t worry, we’ll save her.”

Deaton placed a small bowl of lukewarm water in front of Stiles and ordered him to clean the baby off while he got the last few things together. The next hour was a blur. Stiles moved from one task to the next whenever Deaton asked him to. And finally they could all breathe easily.  
The high-pitched cry of the infant brought Derek and Isaac into the room.

Stiles had swaddled her back up in his jacket and was trying quiet the crying by rocking her back and forth. The baby’s skin was flushed from crying, but it no longer looked so deathly pale. She now was a perfectly healthy baby girl with ten fingers and toes, chubby cheeks, and fine wisps a light hair on her head. When Stiles managed to get her settled, he had a giant smile on his face, proud he was able to help save her life (he denies anyone who says he cried and tells everyone that it was Derek and Isaac).

Derek had his mouth open to say something to the vet, but Deaton held a hand up. “You’re welcome. Hopefully we won’t have to see her in here again for a very long time.”  
They nodded gratefully and left Deaton’s office a few minutes later. Stiles gave Isaac the newborn to hold and climbed in the backseat. Normally Stiles would complain about sitting in the back of his own car; however, he was tired, Derek still had his keys, and it seemed Isaac only relaxed when he was holding the baby.

Stiles tried to talk about what they would do next, but Derek caught his eye in the rear-view mirror and shook his head. He knew that was a ‘not right now’ look. As Stiles gave up talking for a moment, he laid his head against the cool window. He was almost asleep when Derek pulled up to main entrance. Stiles wished nothing more than to strip out of his clothes and fall into bed with the adrenaline fading from his system. Though in order to get to his bed, he had to walk up three flights of stairs. He still hadn’t forgiven Scott and Ethan for deciding it was a great idea to train in the elevator.

Over the years, Derek’s loft was still called “Derek’s loft”, but turned into Stiles’ loft too. While waiting to go college Stiles decided to move himself into the loft. He made Derek put his bed in an actual bedroom, fix all the holes in the brick, and upgrade the kitchen into something usable. He also took Derek to town to buy three couches, a table big enough to sit the whole pack, and a flat screen T.V. Stiles felt slightly guilty about spending all that money at first, but it proved to be good choice when the pack decided to all hang out at Derek’s loft during their breaks at college.

Isaac lived with Scott until Derek returned to Beacon Hills. Derek told Isaac he only did those things because he couldn’t risk one of the Alpha killing him for being friends with him. Cora living in the loft had nothing to do with him having to leave and that Derek would always consider him as pack and family. Everyone in the room at the time pretended not to see the tears in Isaac’s eyes. Isaac moved back in the next day and stayed through high school and college, until he graduated and his job in social services became stable enough to buy the loft area besides Derek’s.

He only used a few of the rooms, so he opened up his loft, connected it to Derek’s portion, and let the rest of the pack use the space. It left him the proud owner of a workout and training room, two spare bedrooms for pack sleepovers, and a room dedicated to video games (the room for all the books and research stuff luckily remained downstairs in Derek’s part of the loft).

Stiles trudged up the stairs in front of Derek and Isaac. He sighed when he opened the door. Of course he wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep.

Allison, carrying a sobbing, eighteen month old Harrison, ambushed Stiles the second he stepped into the loft. “Oh thank God. I would love to stay and coo over the baby and listen to you guys brag about how you save her, but we had a situation here.”  
Over Allison’s shoulder, Stiles could see the loft in total disorder. And to think he had spent the whole day before picking up after Derek and Isaac.

“What happen?”

“The Hunter found out the Omega was trying to reach Derek after he shot her, and somehow he found his way here.” Great. The monster of a person already killed a girl and then went after his pack. “And he…thought Esther was the girl he was tracking…and tried to attack her.”

It was not looking good for him right now. Esther, Boyd’s college sweetheart and wife, the only girl and the youngest of a respected Alpha in southern California’s seven children, and the sweetest and most beautiful woman Stiles had ever (behind Lydia and Allison), who also happened to be thirty-five weeks pregnant with her first child, had been attacked.

Stiles had to take a deep breath to calm his anger towards the man. When Derek heard what Allison said, Stiles could hear his jaw clenching from across the room.

Isaac spoke up. “Is Esther okay? Where is she?”

“Ethan, Scott, and Boyd managed to show up at just the right time to subdue the Hunter, but all the stress caused Esther to go into labor early. Scott went with Boyd and Esther to the hospital so he could explain to Melissa what happened with Esther and about her.” Allison gestured with her free hand to Isaac and the newborn. “Ethan’s upstairs taking care of Lydia’s cut.”

Stiles tilted his head back and asked sarcastically to no one specific, “Really?”

“The Hunter managed to get away.” Allison shifted her son in her arms.

“That’s not our problem now,” stated Derek. He picked up an overturned chair. “One of our own needs our help now. When Lydia and Ethan come down, we’re all going to go to the hospital for support and to figure some things out.”

So that’s what they did. Allison, Ethan, Danny, and Lydia took Allison’s SUV and Derek, Stiles, and Isaac squished in the Camaro. Halfway to the hospital Stiles got a text from Scott.

_**Boyd says they left their bags @ home. Wonders if you can pick them up on your way over. Also said whoever has the baby can borrow extra stuff. Like a car seat.** _

“We need to stop by the Boyd’s house.”

The pack filled most of the room in the maternity ward. Scott’s mom was talking to Derek and Isaac at the nurse’s station; she had papers in her and looked like she was scolding Derek. If Stiles wasn’t about to fall asleep standing against the wall he would have thought it was funny. Scott, Allison, and little Harrison were all curled together in one of the larger chairs. Lydia was sitting a few seats away muttering about rogue hunters and scientific equations as she filed down a broken nail. Danny sat next to her peacefully reading a book, and Ethan leaned against his side while fighting to stay wake. Everyone was exhausted.

But Stiles was starting to get restless waiting around at three in the morning. Besides, Stiles was really starting to hate hospitals. He was about to search for a vending machine when Boyd entered the room. Those still conscious sat up at his entrance.

“The doctor decided not to try to stop the contractions. They said it would be a while before anything major happens. You guys should go back to the loft and come back tomorrow.”  
Lydia and Danny tried to convince Boyd to let them stay the rest of the night. He agreed and saw the rest of pack out of the ward.

When everyone who had left returned to the loft, they silently split up and went to the different guest rooms. Isaac took the newborn they save upstairs with him. Stiles was barely able to take his shoes off before he fell face first into his and Derek’s bed. Derek laid down a few minutes later after checking the security of the two lofts. He threw an arm around Stiles’ waist and pulled  
him in close.

“Worst birthday ever,” Stiles mumbled before slipping into a dreamless sleep.


	3. One Becomes Two

Derek was gone when Stiles woke up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and changed out of his clothes from the day before. Sleepy voices and smells of breakfast wafted into the master bedroom. The pack was seated around the large, wooden table at the edge of the loft’s kitchen. Everyone had already dived into the giant mounds of eggs, bacon, and waffles. Chocolate waffles. Those were saved only for special occasions. Like birthdays. Then it hit Stiles, and all the events from the night before came rushing back to him. He decided to forego the coffee (not wanting to fall asleep during breakfast) and stole a piece of fresh bacon from Derek as he leaned in for his normal morning kiss. Derek, who was standing in front of the stove finishing up the last rounds of food, pretended not to notices the meat disappearing.

Stiles sat at his normal spot at the table and waited for Derek to sit down before he started to eat. While everyone around the table talked, Stiles saw they looked as tired as he felt. He didn’t feel too bad about laying his head on the table after he saw the rest of the pack. Eventually, Derek nudged his elbow and raised an eyebrow at him; Derek didn’t need to say anything for Stiles to understand his facial expressions. He had mastered that art long before they started to date.

Isaac wandered in a few minutes after that, carefully carrying a sleeping baby in his arms. He had wrapped her in a borrowed blanket from the Boyds and placed her in Harrison’s empty, transportable bassinet. No matter how many times Derek or Stiles moved it to another room, it always found it’s way back to the middle of their living room.

Isaac sat down at his seat in between Scott and the seat reserved for Boyd.

Derek waited for Isaac to fill his plate before speaking. “As I’m sure you know, we have lots of things to discuss this morning.”

“What about the people at the hospital?” Scott asked. “Won’t they want to be a part of the discussion?”

“I talked to them on the phone this morning when I checked on Esther. Things are still progressing slowly.”

Stiles noticed Isaac being a little too quiet. He looked a lot more rested than the rest of the pack, so sleep deprivation wasn’t the issue. He tore off a chunk of his waffle and chewed at it thoughtfully while Derek continued.”

“Boyd informed me that we could go and wait later this morning, but that there was no rush to get there.” Derek stole a quick glance to the living room. “She doesn’t smell like another pack.”

His voice was barely over a whisper, but Stiles knew the rest of the pack didn’t have a problem hearing him.

Allison looked up from keeping her son from spilling the food on his plastic high chair all over the floor. “What does that mean for us.”

“I means that since her mother was an Omega and she has no other traces of another werewolf or pack, we have to right to take her in as our own,” Ethan spoke up from his seat. Even though he wasn’t an Alpha anymore, he still helped Derek explain the finer details of werewolf laws.

“So we can keep her?”

All eyes turned from Isaac’s hopeful face to Derek’s thoughtful one.

Derek nodded and Stiles added, “I don’t think he have a second option. The Hunter’s still out running around and it’s not like we can drop her off at the police station. I’m pretty sure we don't want an unknowing couple adopting a baby werewolf, if Harrison is anything to go by. And didn’t Melissa give you and Isaac a birth certificate, Derek?”

“Yeah,” Derek caught Isaac’s eyes. “We just have to decide who should be her legal guardian.”

The pack burst into one almost indistinguishable sentence.

“We have our hands full with Harrison, and so will Boyd and Esther.”

“Danny and I haven’t ever thought about children?”

“Have _we_ discussed children?”

“Lydia’s too busy with school.”

“Peter’s still too creepy and who knows where he is.”

"Are Kira and Malia still with Cora down in Mexico?"

The increase of noise had woken the infant up, and Isaac was out of his chair and lifting her out of the crib before she could let out another sleepy sob. Everyone, but Derek, was surprised by Isaac’s actions.

“I could do it.” Isaac straightened his back and walked over to where the loft’s stock of baby bottles and formula was held. The more Stiles thought about it, the more he realized just how much baby stuff had found its way into his and Derek’s loft. And over the past eighteen months, pretty much everyone an expert of diaper changing and bottle making from the many nights of babysitting. Though Isaac was one of the best. Stiles figured with the preparation of Boyd and Esther's first child all the baby supplies already in the loft had been updated. “I could take care of her.”

While he started fixing a bottle with one hand, Allison stood and help clear away some of the dirty dishes. “ No ones doubting you Isaac, but you do realize what’s all included in taking responsibility for her? And you would be doing it alone too.”

“Yes, Allison, I understand. But my job is secure, flexible, and I have the money. And who knows, I might not be alone forever.”

Isaac, who was finally able to enjoy himself without worrying about losing someone close to him, had his serious look guarding the rest of his emotions. No one had seen that look since the Alpha pack.

“What do you think, Derek? Can Isaac raise the newest, unexpect, member of our pack?” When Stiles spoke, all eyes turned away from Allison and Isaac and to Derek.

“I think he’s more than capable.” Then Stiles saw the minute twitch of the corner of Derek's mouth. Of course, Derek knew about Isaac’s gravitation to the infant and hoped (wanted) him to step up. “Stiles, go with Isaac to get those papers filled out. The rest of us can clean up the mess from breakfast. I’ll give you the bottle when it’s ready.”

Now the official guardian of the infant, Isaac lead Stiles into his section of the flat and then into his personal bedroom. Stiles sat on the edge of the bed and held his arms out, Isaac understood the gesture and let Stiles hold his daughter. Stiles had a feeling Isaac was just as excited to call the baby his daughter as Stiles was excited about calling the baby Isaac’s daughter.

After a few minutes of Isaac shuffling through the stack of papers, Derek came in the room and handed Stiles a bottle of formula. Isaac gave Stiles silent permission to feed her.

“She’s going to need a name.”

Isaac glanced up from one of the papers and replied, “I know. I already had one picked out.”

“What is is? And how do you know all the info needed for those forms?”

“Her name is Ava Grace. Ava means ‘life'. I thought it fit her well.” Isaac paused. “I know most of the information for the paperwork because when I found her mother, I held her in my arms as she died, and I just waited for the pack. She said her name was Grace and that she didn’t know who the father was. Grace made me promise to save her baby and protect her from the Hunter until her last breath. I can’t break that promise.”

Ava Grace Lahey. Stiles agreed it was good fit for the tiny baby. And now Isaac’s protectiveness the past few hours made sense. Isaac’s loyalty to his pack, his family, was unwavering.

Isaac continued, “I waited until everyone had gone to bed to make Ava a bottle. Derek found me and told me he knew about Grace’s dying wish. He suggested I look up her up in the social services database.”

"Wait, did you sleep at all?"

"I slept for a few hours total. I'm used to not sleeping a lot because of the nightmares, and I couldn't let myself take my eyes off of Ava."

Only Derek and Stiles knew of Isaac's nightmares. Some were of Isaac still looked in the freezer. Others were of pack members dying bloody and violent deaths.

“Oh, well what did you find?”

Ava had finished her bottle and Stiles began to burp her.

“Her full name was Grace Elizabeth Bryant and she was only eighteen. Her parents died in a car crash when she was seven. No one could find any relatives, so she bounced around from one group home or foster family to the next. She ran away from her last foster family in Seattle a few month before her seventeenth birthday. I don’t know how she became a werewolf or why she was running.”

Stiles smiled sadly at Ava in his arms. He didn't know what it was like to loose someone in a car crash. 

“Don’t worry Isaac. We’ll find out the truth, and in the meantime you’ll be an amazing father.”

Isaac capped his pen and stood up.

“As cute as you two are, we should see what Derek has planned for the rest of the day.”

Once everyone was cleaned up and ready to go, they piled into their cars and headed to the hospital. Melissa greeted them at the entrance to the maternity ward; she lead Isaac to another part of the hospital to file Ava’s birth certificate along with all the other papers he had completed and to make sure Ava had a check up standard for all newborns. The rest of the pack found Danny and Lydia in the same waiting room as before. For two people who stayed overnight at a hospital with little sleep, they looked like perfection (as always). They told the pack everything that happened with Esther and Boyd since they left, and to nobody’s surprise, it wasn’t much. Ethan drove Danny back to their apartment to take a shower and try to get some sleep. When Isaac came back without Scott’s mom, Allison and Lydia volunteered to take Isaac to town to get everything necessary for a baby. Stiles, Scott, and Danny already agreed to move all their computers and gaming systems out of the game room so it could be a nursery for Ava. No doubt Lydia was going to get supplies to decorate to nursery too. Scott, with his son in tow, wandered off to see if Melissa wanted anything for lunch.

By the time a nurse let anyone waiting for Boyd and Esther into their room, Stiles and Derek were the only ones left. Boyd was sitting in a chair beside his wife’s bed and was holding one of her hands in both of his. They were talking quietly when Derek and Stiles opened the door. Esther and Boyd had bright, smiling (if not tired) faces when they saw who entered. Boyd stood up and mentioned he wanted to talk to Derek while he was here. The two men left to talk in the hallway, and Stiles took Boyd’s spot beside Esther.

When Boyd first brought Esther over to Derek’s loft for a pack holiday during college, there had been tension between Esther and the rest of the pack. After a while everyone warmed up to her, and long before Boyd proposed she had been accepted into the Hale pack. It was nice to see Boyd so happy after he was locked in the vault with Cora and Erica had been killed right in front of him.

“How are you feeling?” Stiles asked.

“Oh you know. Just having very painful contractions.” Stiles wondered if it was a good or bad thing that every other pack member had to be so sarcastic at times. “Other than that, I’m feeling good. But I’m a bit tired, it’s hard to sleep.”

Stiles nodded. Harrison’s birth had been similar, except Allison had been angrier and yell at a lot more people.

“Do you have any names picked out?” He asked Esther.

“I was thinking about Charlotte.”

“Would you get mad if I called her Charlie?”

Esther laughed. Stiles loved her laugh. It reminded him of his mother’s. “I don’t mind if-”

She was cut off by a contraction. Esther gripped Stiles’s hand so tightly, he was sure she was going to break it. He had to remind her to breathe through the pain, and when it was over she settled back against the pillows behind her back.

“Do you want me to get Boyd?”

Esther shook her head. “I don’t mind if you call her Charlie. I think it’s a cute nickname.”

“Awesome. Have you picked out a middle name yet?”

“I suggested Erica knowing how much she meant to Boyd, but he declined the name.” She rolled onto her side to be in a more comfortable position. “He said a person’s name is important, and when you’re named after someone, you have an unconscious pressure to live up to that person’s legacy. He also said Erica would hate him if we named our daughter after her.”

Stiles nodded. “I understand. I’m named after my grandfather, and I still don’t know how to pronounce my name correctly. I’m sure you and Boyd will pick out something perfect for baby Charlotte.”

“I hope so, we've already argued about it enough.”

Stiles looked around the room for a second. It pretty much looked like any other hospital room.

“Hey, is your dad coming to town?”

Esther’s father was one person that Stiles hoped never to get on their bad side.

“No, he can’t. He’s in the middle of some stupid negotiation with another pack. He won’t be able to drive up until the end of the week. But he promised one of my brothers would be here by this afternoon, so that’d be nice.”

Stiles had only meet one of Esther’s six older brothers in the years he's know her. The brother he had meet was the oldest, next in line to become the Alpha, and just as intimidating as his father. He was nice though, and polite (even if Stiles thought he was standing just a bit too close to Lydia the whole time). Their relationship had never progressed past a strong friendship, but Stiles was still protective over Lydia.

Esther and Stiles’s conversation moved to the topic of Isaac and Ava. Esther was happy her daughter would have the opportunity to have a close friend in the pack. Derek and Boyd came back into the room, and the four of them talk for a few minutes until Esther had another contraction. Derek promised they would come back later with the others.

Scott spotted them in the hallway and let Derek know he was going to meet up with his wife, Lydia, and Isaac for lunch and bring back something for his mom and Boyd. Derek told him he was planing to make a run to the store to restock their food before everything got too crazy, and then return to the hospital afterwards. Stiles followed Derek out the main doors and to where he parked the Camaro.

“So when can we get a baby?” Stiles slipped his hand into Derek’s.

Derek stopped in the middle of the hospital’s parking lot. “Really, Stiles? I think two newborns in the pack is enough for right now.”

“I was just wondering. I don’t think my dad would be happy with me having children before I’m married anyway.”

Stiles started towards Derek’s Camaro again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Derek following him with his eyebrows pinched together in thought. It was amazing that Stiles could tell Derek’s thoughts or emotions just by his eyebrows were positioned.

“What are you thinking now, Derek?”

“I umm...just...just wait right there for a second.” Derek hurried to the passenger side of his car and grabbed something from the glove box. Stiles had no idea what was happening. The last time Derek stammered like that was the first time he asked Stiles on a real date.

Derek stood in front of Stiles and fidgeted with the small object in his hands.

“I was going to wait until you graduated, but these past twenty-four hours made me realize I don’t want to wait any longer.” Derek kneeled on one knee. “Stiles, you know you still haven’t told me your real first name, Stilinski will you marry me?”


	4. The World Begins Renewed

Derek’s words didn’t register to Stiles at first. Then he blushed and tried to pull Derek up off the ground.

“Oh my gosh, Derek, get off the parking lot.”

Derek stood up and stared at Stiles in slight confusion. “Does that mean no?”

“No, Derek.” Stiles dramatically rolled his eyes. “It means proposing in the middle of a parking lot wasn’t the best idea.”

Derek’s confusion grew.

“Yes. Derek, yes I’ll marry you. No need to get worried. And it took you long enough to ask.”

Derek smiled sheepishly. He opened the small box and took out the ring inside. It was a white gold band inlaid with a strip of black diamonds around the middle. When Derek held it out, Stiles could see a triskelion engraved on the underside of the ring. Stiles took it and slipped it onto his finger.

“Ugh.” Stiles pulled Derek into a hug after giving him a big sloppy kiss on the lips. “Why are you so perfect all the time?”

The other man laughed and said, “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

They finally made it to Derek’s car.

“I guess I have to tell my dad this, along with all the other stuff that happen last night.”

“Maybe I already asked your dad about proposing to you.” Derek stopped at the red light and look over to Stiles. He was looking at the ring on his finger.

“Wow, you really thought this all out. Way to be a gentleman.” Stiles looked up at Derek. “What about all the other stuff that happened last night?”

“Supposedly Melissa told your dad about Isaac’s situation and about the Hunter this morning.”

“Oh, I didn’t know they met for breakfast this morning.”

“They didn’t. She spent the night with your father.”

Stiles shifted in the passenger seat to face directly towards Derek. “What? When did that happen. Why did anyone feel like he or she shouldn’t inform me that Scott’s mom and my dad are now apparently together? And how do you know this?”

“It’s been going on for a few weeks now, but this is the first time Melissa stayed the night. I’m not the only one that knows about them, Stiles. Scott and Allison knew before me.” Derek smiled at Stiles’s flustered state. “No one wanted to bother you while you were trying to finish school.”

Stiles turned back around in his seat. He told everyone to give him a little space the last half of the final semester of college. Stiles couldn’t complain about no one telling about him Melissa and his dad, they did what he asked him to.

“Do you mind taking me back to the loft before you get groceries. I need to have a little talk with my father.”

“Sure. Whatever you want, Stiles.”

 

Derek dropped Stiles off at the front of the building that contained the loft. He promised to pick up a bottle of nice wine and Reese's cups to celebrate the engagement (along with some Derek-and-Stiles personal time). Stiles knew he deserved it after Derek had skipped out on his birthday the day before.

Stiles could hear muffled banging coming from somewhere inside the loft when he first opened the door. Next, he saw all the electronics that had been in the game room on the table in the kitchen. Finally, Stiles saw Isaac laying across one of the many couches in the area dedicated to pack meetings and watching TV. He was lying on his back without a shirt: his eyes were closed, his head was propped up on the arm of the couch, and his feet dangled off the other end. Ava, wearing only a tiny white diaper, was on top of Isaac’s chest sound asleep.

Isaac opened one of his eyes when Stiles plopped down on another couch.

Stiles whispered, “What’s with all the semi-nudity?”

“Allison said skin-to-skin contact was good for babies, especially young werewolves,” Isaac replied in Stiles’s same whispered tone.

“You mean werebabies?”

Isaac rolled his eyes at Stiles. “Yes, it’s good for werebabies too. It helps human babies to calm down easier and cry less. For werewolves, it helps to establish familial bonds and promote scenting when older.”

Stiles nodded. “Nice to know.”

He’d heard most of that before, but the part about werebabies was new. Stiles was sure there was some strange science behind, but science wasn’t Stiles’s favorite subject in school. It was Lydia’s. Along with just about everything else.

Stiles mimicked Isaac’s posture (save being shirtless and having a baby), and closed his own eyes. A loud bang and indistinct voices filtered over to Isaac and Stiles.

Stiles saw Isaac wince at another bang; however, Ava still remained asleep.

“Allison and Lydia are decorating the nursery as a ‘baby shower’ present. You will not believe how much baby stuff they bought for me. Lydia decided to buy enough clothes for Ava to last until she’s in high school.”

Stiles laughed quietly. “I can believe that. It sounds exactly what Lydia would do.”

“They won’t let me see the room until they’re finished. They also said I wasn’t supposed to leave this couch until they were done either. I don’t mind that part. It’s nice to have a little quiet time with Ava.”

“Yeah, I bet it is.”

Just when the loft quieted down again, Ava thought it would be the best time to wake up and demand a bottle. Isaac sat up planning to make a bottle, but Stiles stopped him.

“I got it.”

Isaac smiled at Stiles. “Thanks.” He leaned back against the cushions, brought his legs up and sat criss-crossed on the couch. Isaac still held Ava against his bare chest. The skin-to-skin contact did seem to help in quieting her cries. Soon her crying turned half hearted and (to no surprise) stopped when Stiles brought Isaac a perfectly warmed bottle.

Stiles saw Isaac eye the ring on his finger.

“I see Derek proposed. I'm guessing you said yes?” He smirked.

“No, I told Derek I would never marry him, but I kept the ring to mock him.” Stiles flopped back in his seat from before. “How did you know about Derek’s proposal?”

Isaac looked up from Ava. “I helped him pick out the ring.”

“Oh, yes. Of course you did.”

“Hey, Derek asked for my help and who am I to deny the big bad Alpha?”

Stiles fiddled with the ring on his finger. “Whatever. You guys picked well. It clearly says ‘Belongs to Derek Hale. Do not touch.’”

The other man smiled brightly. Just on the verge of laughing.

Isaac looked like that a lot now. The lit up face, shining when someone complimented him, or like now with Stiles, on the edge of laughing at a joke made about Derek. That type of smile had rarely surfaced during high school. The pack was just glad to see it often now.

Finished with her bottle, Isaac leaned Ava against his shoulder. He placed a hand on her back and supporting her head. Isaac murmured unrecognizable words to his daughter. Stiles could tell how happy Isaac was doing something so domestic. Stiles was glad Isaac had found his little slice of happiness.

Stiles was quiet for a moment longer before asking Isaac about the check-up earlier that morning.

“Well the nurse certainly thought Ava was the more adorable thing to grace the planet. They said she was perfect in every single way. ”

“Sounds like pretty soon you’ll have a little heartbreaker on your hands.”

Isaac’s eyes flashed with slight panic. “Oh God, what did I get myself into.”

Stiles laughed softly. “Relax. Any boy Ava wants to bring home will have to go through me and then Derek before she even brings him to you.”

“Thank you.” Isaac said quietly. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be doing the same for Boyd and Es-”

“No Stiles,” he interjected. “Thank you for saving her life. I don’t...It would have killed me if she died.”

Stiles believed him. Losing Ava would have killed everyone. “I would have killed me too.”

The two men moved into an easier topic. They talked about Ava’s future sleeping schedules and feeding habits and her crying. Although Ava was not even a day old she was already the total opposite of Allison and Scott’s son. He was a nightmare when first born. So compared to Harrison, Ava was the perfect baby that only existed in fiction. Isaac and Stiles fell into a comfortable silence until the sounds of Allison and Lydia’s shoes came bounding into the open area of the loft.

Allison held her son on her hip and both women were smiling broadly.

Lydia spoke first. “Boyd just called. It’s time.”

“Then why are we still here?” Stiles shot off the couch.

Isaac didn’t stand up. “I think I’ll stay here. I’ve had enough excitement for the last twelve hours to last me the rest of the day.”

“I can hang back too.” said Allison. She sat down in Stiles’s previous spot. “It’s time for Harrison’s nap. I’ll also make sure Isaac doesn’t try to look at the nursery.”

Stiles turned towards Lydia. “Let’s take my car.”

 

Stiles drummed his fingers on his jeep’s steering wheel, the ring making a dull clinking sound. Lydia glanced and his hand then his profile. She didn’t comment, but a faint smirk spread across her lips. Stiles would glance back at her every few minutes. The relatively short car ride seeming to stretch on forever. At times like this, Stiles really was glad that he was only good friends with Lydia.

“When do you go back to school?”

The drumming stopped. “I have to leave tomorrow. If I didn’t have less than a semester of school left I would think about staying here for a few days, but I can’t. I’m so close to the end.”

Lydia nodded, “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Stiles pulled up to the hospital and parked. He spotted Derek’s camaro a few spaces over.

“Hey, still going for that Fields Medal?”

“Not at the moment. I actually just got offered a job to work at a genetics lab not too far from here. They read my thesis paper and were impressed by my theory.”

Lydia and Stiles were met by Ethan in the hallway. They followed him back to the waiting room. Stiles noticed a distinct lack of their pack in the waiting area, now it was filled by other random people.

“Where is everyone?” asked Stiles. He plopped down next to Danny.

Danny tilted his head up in concentration. “Boyd was close to having a slight meltdown, so Derek told Scott to take him outside to calm down. Derek’s in the room with Esther- so is Melissa.”

“Why is Derek in the delivery room?” Stiles looked to Danny then Ethan.

“He got put on hand holding duty until Boyd was able to control himself.” Ethan smiled. Suddenly he turned his head to the side and listened to something down the ward’s hallway. “It should be any minute now.”

Stiles stood and started to pace. “I’m really surprised Derek wasn’t the one to freak out.”

The group chuckled. Just then a dark shape ran past the waiting room. Everyone one knew it was Boyd. A minute later Scott joined them. Lydia filled the men in on what had happened in the previous hours at the loft.

When Derek walked in, Stiles almost didn’t recognize him due the the dorkiest smile every.

“Her name’s Charlotte. Charlotte Erica Boyd.”

 

Stiles rolled into bed and dragged Derek down with him. He was not excited about driving back to school in less than eight hours.

Derek wrapped his strong arms around Stiles’s waist and torso, nuzzling his face into Stiles’s grown out hair.

Stiles voiced softly, “I hope Esther didn’t hurt your hand too badly.”

“She didn’t,” huffed out Derek against his neck.

When Derek remained quiet and his breathing slowed, Stiles thought he fell asleep. But just as Stiles was drifting off, Derek spoke again.

“I’m scared.”

“About what?”

“In the last twenty-four hours my pack has increased not by one, but by two. And Harrison is still young. I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect them.”

Stiles rolled over onto his other side. Even though it was too dark to see Derek, Stiles knew he could see him.

“If you don’t stop talking like that, I’m going to slap you. And we won’t have sex for a month. How many times have I told you that you never have to do anything alone? I’ll always be with you, so will Scott, Isaac, and Boyd, and Lydia and Allison, even my father, and Melissa, and Parrish. You might be the Alpha, but we protect pack as a pack. Now go to sleep. I want to wake up early and see Esther and Boyd before I have to leave in the morning.”

Derek and Stiles fell asleep in a tangle of limbs and sheets.


	5. There's No Rest

Busy was an understatement. Between the frantic dash to Graduation Day and Derek calling Stiles every other night to freak out, Stiles was way past ready to go.

He was a little reluctant to go back to school, but Lydia, along with a little help from Derek, pushed and prodded until Stiles had both feet on campus ground. They promised everyone would be seeing him in a few short weeks walking across the stage with his certificate in hand. Afterwards, the pack would only stay long enough to deal with Stiles’s temporary apartment, and then it would be straight back to Beacon Hills for a party and much needed bonding time. Stiles believed no one was too young, or too old to be involved in the pack cuddles. It was pretty much beneficial for everyone, and Stiles always enjoyed the look Derek gave him when he called it “cuddling.”

On the morning of the Big Day, Stiles awoke with a warm weight pressed along his side. In years passed there would have been lots of flailing of limbs and minor freak outs, but Stiles knew who lay beside him. Derek’s body had become as familiar as his own.

“You’re early.” Stiles shimmied to face his fiance (that words still hadn’t settled in yet).

“I couldn’t resist the surprise.”

“Well look you may not be so sour after all.”

A faint smile graced Derek’s lips. “Go back to sleep, Stiles.”

“Fine.” He re-closed his eyes and only lasted a moment before cracking of of them open a tiny bit. The man sleeping across from him look peaceful, the small smile still on his face.

Stiles almost reconsidered disturbing him.

“So when is everyone else coming?”

Derek let out a dramatic groan “Stiles. I did not drive all morning, hoping to spend a little one-on-one time, _sleeping_ one-on-one time, with you, just to talk about the pack.”

“Maybe you _are_ still a sourwolf.”

The man next to Stiles then chuckled softly and sent comforting vibrations through Stiles's chest.

“They’re coming later this afternoon. Isaac volunteered to stay with Esther and watch the children so Boyd could come. He says he’s sorry he won’t be at the ceremony.”

“I understand,” and Stiles really did. He could admit he was a little disappointed though, Stiles missed his pack and wanted to shower the children with all his attention. “I’ll see them tonight when we get home.”

Having to wait for the entire pack to be together was by far the smallest sacrifice someone in their group had made since high school. A melancholy feeling always flooded Stiles’s system when he thought back to those times, but no matter terrible thoughts came back, Stiles had to remember that they fought together, they healed together, and became a true, unbreakable pack together. Even with some members of their pack (Cora, Malia, Kira, and Lydia) away from Beacon Hills, they were all still a pack. All the battling was worth the bond between pack-mates they had now.

The sleepy silence lasted a few more minutes until Stiles was too awake and excited to even think about going back to sleep.

“Derek,” whined Stiles quietly.

Derek huffed and sat up. “What now, Stiles?”

“Could you make me breakfast?”

Stiles hoped he pulled off a Isaac or Scott level puppy-dog look. And even when Derek turned his back towards Stiles and sighed, Stiles didn’t need to see his face to know Derek was rolling his eyes.

“I guess so,” Derek paused as he slipped out of the warmth of the bed. “But only because this day is for you and because I love you.”

Stiles was almost too stunned by the sudden declaration of love to notice Derek walking away completely naked. Don’t get him wrong, Stiles knew the werewolf loved him to the ends of the earth, but at times Derek could be slightly emotionally constipated. _I love yous_ were not as freely said as much as Stiles would have liked.

“I know that, but what makes you think I love you back?” He was staring at the bedroom’s doorway, mad that he missed the chance to stare at Derek’s ass.

He could hear Derek’s content laughter mixing with the other noises from the kitchen. There was no possibility he could _not_ love Derek.

 

Stiles was a man-sized bundle of nerves when the early afternoon rolled around. His favorite overly sweet coffee and a quick make-out session in the back of Derek’s car only helped so much to quell his nervousness. In a few minuted Stiles and the other soon to be graduates would be lined up and seated in the college’s large auditorium.

When it came time to wait, Stiles didn’t know what was worse: going up in the beginning with the other honor students and having to wait for everyone else to get their diploma, or being forced to wait until the end with the other “S” surnames. Then he realized he’d be waiting the same amount in both scenarios. Although he did guess that the shorted he had to wait to go up across the stage, the less of a chance he had of tripping over thin air on the way.

He managed to stay still, or still enough that only his knees bounced under his gown, during all the boring but relatively short speeches. When Lydia graduated with her first of many degrees, Stiles thought he would die of old age before even the first diploma was given out (to her of course). The moment Stiles’s row was ushered to stand and wait on the side of the stage, Stiles sought out the pack in the crowd. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't hard to pick out Derek’s dark hair and perpetual stubble. On one side of Derek sat his dad and Melissa, and on the other side sat Boyd, Scott and Allison, with Danny and Ethan capping the end. Stiles shifted to try to catch someone’s attention and saw a flash of Lydia’s red hair between Allison and Danny. Now that was a surprise. He thought she locked herself in a laboratory in city somewhere solving the newest mystery in the universe.

The day when the epic friendship of Lydia Martin and Stiles Stilinski began was one of Stiles’s happiest memories. It was at the top with the day he lost his virginity (which had bonus points because it was with Derek) and his twenty-fifth birthday. A lot had happened on that day just a few weeks beforehand.

Stiles eventually caught Scott’s attention, and after a quick thumbs up from him, Scott nudged Derek in the side and pointed to Stiles. Even from a distance, Stiles could see the older man’s fond smile. It was the one only shown to Stiles, the one that said _I’m proud of you_ , the one that said _You’re the best thing that ever happened to me and I love you so so much_. Stiles got Derek’s message and gave loving smile back. _I love you too._

After that, everything was a blur: walking, handshaking, hugs and kisses, congratulations, and pictures. Then everything was completely finished with and pack moved to Stiles’s apartment where a packing party was held. Everyone raced to get the remaining stuff boxed up and into the back of the jeep. Lydia already planned ahead and called private movers to ship the bigger items to Beacon Hills the next day. Stiles’s father and Melissa offered to take the jeep back, so Stiles could crawl into the passenger seat of the Camaro.

He was out cold before they hit the highway.

“Oh, so now you want to sleep.”

Stiles’s steady heartbeat was his only reply.

Derek looked at Stiles from where he was slightly curled around himself and the part of Derek’s arm that he could reach. He tried pulling his arm away, but Stiles gripped him tighter in his slumber.

 

Stiles woke up in the Camaro, which was parked in the driveway of his childhood home. Derek was sitting perfectly still, his pensive face meticulously scanning the exterior of the house. Stiles sat up and released the death grip of Derek’s arm, choosing instead to lace their fingers together.

“Why are we still in the car?”

Derek turned to Stiles. “We made it back before everyone else, and then the girls wanted a few minutes to finish setting everything up. You looked so calm sleeping that I didn’t want to wake you right away.”

“And I appreciate my awesome late night nap.” Stiles unbuckled his seat belt to scoot closer to Derek. “So what were you thinking so much about?”

Silhouettes danced behind the drawn curtains of the living room.

“You,” Derek replied before looking back at the house.

“What about me?”

When Derek looked at Stiles again, he smiled a tiny bit.

“I was thinking about how you don’t have to leave anymore. Every morning that I wake up, you’ll be next to me and I know you won’t be somewhere I can’t get to you quickly.”

Stiles matched Derek’s smile, and he leaned in closer for a kiss.

“I’m really happy to be back for good too, but why do you look like you’re glaring at my dad’s house like it’s supposed to be answering a question for you?. What else were you thinking about.”

“Our house.”

“Okay, what exactly in the Loft were you thinking about.”

“No, not the Loft. Our house. I want to build a house for us and the pack out in the Preserve like my family’s house.”

“Derek.” Stiles saw the yearning on his face and understood the complete seriousness of what he was asking Stiles. Derek must have been thinking about it for a while. Stiles gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Does this mean I finally get to see your claimed Architecture degree put into action?”

Derek’s face turned hopeful. “Do this mean you’re saying yes?”

“Of course, Derek. I want nothing more than something that we can say is ours and no one else's. I want the whole pack to be able to have a safe place to stay. Although, I think still keeping the Loft as a safe house is a good idea. Isaac can move in as soon as the house is finished. Is that okay?”

“It’s more than okay.” Now Derek’s toothy smile lit up his whole face.

Derek opened his mouth to say more, but Lydia burst open the front door and flooded the car in light from inside. “You two better not be doing things too inappropriate for public and get inside before Stiles misses his own party.”

The men shouted back that they would be in soon and took a moment to seal their agreement with a kiss. Or ten.

 

When they got inside, the first thing Stiles noticed was the cheesy _Congratulations, Stiles!_ banner hanging from the ceiling between the living room and kitchen. Next he saw his pack spread out around the room. Scott’s mom and his dad were sitting side by side on the couch quietly cooing over the sleeping bundles of Ava and Charlie in their arms (ever since the day Harrison was born, they took it upon themselves to be a grandparent to any child of the pack, blood or not.) Behind them, stood Lydia and a hovering Isaac. He looked torn between focusing on Lydia or swooping down to snatch his daughter from the Sheriff’s arms. Derek noticed it too and left Stiles’s side to place a calming hand at the back of Isaac’s neck.

Stiles passed Boyd and Esther curled together on the end of the couch.

“Come on guys. The party hasn’t even started yet.”

The couple gave him the exact same look and Esther spoke up, “When you have a newborn crying almost twenty-four seven, you learn to rest whenever you can. And that’s rich coming from someone who was asleep in his boyfriends car not even ten minutes ago.” Her words were soaked with sarcasm.

When she sat up for a hug, Stiles quickly fulfilled her wish. “I missed you too, Esther.”

Stiles was tackled in the shines with all the force a two year old could manage the moment he let go of Esther.

“Harry, please don’t hurt Stiles,” called Scott. At some point he moved from the floor playing with Harrison to standing and talking to Derek.

Stiles took Scott’s place on the carpet next to Allison and Harrison’s ever growing pile of toys. She leaned closer and playfully knocked his shoulders.

“Everyone’s happy you’re back. I don’t know what we would have done if you were gone for any longer.”

“I have a feeling the pack would unfortunately crash and burn.” He nudged her shoulder back . “There seem to be a few people missing.”

“Danny and Ethan made a beer run, and my dad caught a lead on the Hunter that killed Ava’s mother. He went to Oregon to meet a trusted friend and track that monster down. ”

Stiles stacked wooden blocks and allowed Harrison to knock them down.

“What did he find out?”

“I’ll tell you later. I don’t want to ruin the mood.” Allison’s solemn face said everything. "Your dad also mentioned something about Parrish and doing paperwork at the station all night."

"I guess I'll just have to stop by and talk to him tomorrow." Jordan Parrish had become a trusted friend of the pack's ever since Stiles and Lydia found his name on the Benefactor's dead-pool list. Stiles had a suspension that Lydia and Parrish had a relationship even more complicated than his and Derek's had been. 

Stiles laid on the floor and helped Harrison build and rebuild the wooden tower of blocks a few times, before Allison announced it was past a certain person’s bedtime. He didn’t realize how late it had gotten.

The little boy walked around to every adult and waited for them to give him a “goodnight kiss” on the head before moving to the next person. When Harrison had visited every person he dutifully followed John and Melissa up the stairs to the grandchildren's room (a.k.a Stiles’s old bedroom filled extra cribs, baby supplies, and toys). 

Scott and Derek always allowed their eyes to be tinged red when they said goodnight. When Stiles asked Derek about the Harrison’s ritual one night, Derek explained it wasn’t uncommon in young wolves to want to be scent-marked when a majority of the pack was together. And the red eyes, Derek clarified, was an easy way to show pack dynamics to children.

When Ethan and Danny arrived with alcohol for both wolves and humans, the pack started on their version of drinking games: The Lie Detector, and Stiles’s personal favorite, Who Did It: Scott or Stiles?.

John and Melissa came back downstairs when the children had been settled down for the night. Everyone was happy and at ease with the feeling of _pack_ and _family_ weaving around everyone and pulling them closer.

At a break in the laughter, the Sheriff turned to his son. “I heard there’s gonna be a spot open at the high school next year. They’re looking for another Chemistry teacher.”

Upon hearing that, all the younger adults started to laugh again.

“Good thing I can only teach kids before they hit puberty, and I know for a fact that multiple teachers at the elementary school are retiring at the end of this school year." Stiles took a sip from the bottle in his hand. "And since when did Chemistry turn into Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

A good portion of the group groaned at his words.

“What? Did I say something?”

Yeah, Stiles was glad he was back for good.


	6. But We Continue

For the second day in a row, Stiles woke up tangled with Derek. Everyone who didn’t have to work in the morning found a soft surface in the living room of the Stilinski house and crashed for the night. When Boyd and Esther had gone back to their own home, Derek and Stiles took their place curled up together on the couch. Lydia was tucked into the Sheriff’s recliner. Someone must have passed out blankets during the night.

Smells of coffee and the sound of laughter drew Stiles from his slumber. If it wasn’t for the urgent need to pee and the sudden rumble of his stomach at the promise of food, he would have tried to fall back to sleep.

It just wasn’t going to happen.

One stop at the bathroom later, Stiles wandered into the kitchen to Melissa and Esther multitasking in bottle feeding Ava and Charlotte, cooking breakfast for the adults, and keeping young Harrison occupied at his high chair.

“I thought you were working this morning, Melissa” questioned Stiles.

Melissa turned around from the stove. “There’s a point in a nurse’s career when you’ve seen everything and know how to deal with everything, and all the other less experienced nurses come to you with questions. When that happens, you can have a little more say in your shifts. I have reached that point, and today I wanted to spend a little time with my family.”

She turned back around to flip a row of pancakes on the griddle.

By the time Ms. McCall placed a plate of steaming hot blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs in front of Stiles (who was in a deep conversation with Harrison which consisted of funny faces and incomprehensible toddler babble), Derek and Lydia stumbled into the kitchen wiping the remnants of sleep from their eyes. They took the empty seats in the middle of Stiles and Esther. No one mentioned the fact that Derek had purposely slid his chair closer to Stiles so the older man press his side against the younger man's.

Stiles didn’t notice Derek’s oddity and moaned around a mouthful of food, “it’s been too long since I’ve something this amazing”. To which everyone rolled their eyes from above various beverages.

“You had this exact same thing a month ago the last time you were here.”

“I know, Derek, and it’s been twenty-nine days overdue,” replied Stiles “But I am afraid if I eat this every morning, I’ll get-”

Lydia broke up the conversation. “Please stop. I haven’t been awake long enough to deal with your supposedly witty banter that acts as foreplay.”

“So that’s what that was last night.” Esther moved Charlie up to her shoulder to be burped. “I didn’t realize Scott was right about almost having to move the party somewhere else to give them privacy.”

When Melissa laughed, her eyes and forehead crinkled. “Believe me, that is not the first time that’s happen. You should have seen them before they even were officially together. It was pretty much unbearable to be in the same room as them.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough talk about personal business.” Stiles stared at the women surrounding him, and when he looked over to Derek, the other man had the decency to slightly embarrassed. There was a good chance he matched Derek’s expression.

Lydia shrugged and began on her own breakfast. “You did this to yourself.”

“And now for a completely different topic: Melissa, what are the plans for today?”

Melissa passed Ava to Derek who relaxed into holding the baby. “Let me check.”

When Stiles first really got to know Derek, he never thought the older man was the type to like children, but back then, Derek didn’t seem to like anything. As the years passed after everything changed then settled again, Stiles and Derek had stayed up until the early hours of the morning on night. They talked about things around them: the stars, the night, the moon. Their conversation was impersonal until in a moment of silence Derek brought up his family and how much it all still hurt. He talked of family dinners and nights he volunteered to babysit watch Cora and the rest of his younger cousins. About running with the people he loved under the light of the moon (now it was Stiles in the moon light). A lot more confessions happened that night.

After Derek’s few initial moments of worrying that he would fail his pack and the fact that Beacon Hills managed not to be such a beacon these days, Derek fully took on the role of an involved and protective Alpha, similar to how Deaton said his mother was.

Stiles snapped out of his thoughts when Melissa read out a list stuck to the fridge with a magnet.

“There were some suspicious animal attacks the next town over, so your father volunteered to help in the investigation. Allison is teaching her monthly firearm safety class at the range right now, and then later was planning to meet your father back at the station to talk about ordering replacements of their standard-issue guns. Boyd got stuck watching the trainees down at the fire station.” She flipped the paper over to continue. “And one of the EMTs called in sick this morning, so Scott picked the shift on call. They all should be off by this afternoon and back here in time for a late lunch together. Did I miss anything?”

Esther mentioned Danny and Ethan had plans for the night and that she wasn’t for sure when Isaac would be getting home from work. If Stiles got distracted by Derek cooing and smiling at Ava and took a minute to register what Lydia said, no one blamed him; they all thought it was adorable.

“Wait, what did you say?!” Stiles flailed around in his seat a little.

“My flight leaves tonight, I'll need a ride to the airport.”

“But..but you just got here. You can’t leave yet.”

Lydia sighed. “I can if my supervisor only gave me two day off. At least she understood that I wasn’t completely willing to drop my entire life to work for her, so I’m allowed to take a break for a couple of days every few weeks.”

“I better find you sitting right there in that seat in twenty-one days.”

“What is with you and counting everything in exact days all of a sudden.” ask Esther. “In the years I’ve known you, you’ve never done that."

Stiles thought he had the perfect response. “I don’t know. What’s with you being so perfect all the time? You’re making everyone else look bad. And Boyd better be glad I’m like super in love with Derek at the moment.”

The adults’ laughter was broken by Harrison demanding to be let out of his highchair to play.

 

 

The rest of the morning was spent relaxing in the McCall backyard waiting for the rest of the pack to get back.

Lydia, Stiles, and Derek took turns using the guest bathroom to properly get cleaned-up and changed into fresh clothes. When both Melissa and Esther mentioned needing to run a few errands, Derek was more than willing to take over watching the children (and Stiles). Harrison kept himself busy with a pile of toys haphazardly stacked in the corner of the living room, while the trio attempted to give Ava and Charlie their next bottles and prepare them for a nap. After the girls had been put to sleep, they corralled Harrison outside so he could release some more energy. 

Lydia grabbed a blanket from inside to lay out on the grass in the shade of a big tree and Stiles joined her. They sat together enjoying the warm spring day talking about whatever popped into their heads. Stiles explained the details of how Derek proposed (something he realized no one had asked him yet) and that they had tentative plans to rebuild the Hale house. Lydia told him what she could about her thesis, and that she had a theory she wanted to work out about genetics and werewolves. She was waiting to get a higher position with the people she worked for so she could have more funding and more privacy for her research.

While the two friends became thoroughly caught up on each other's life, Derek played a game with the toddler. It could only be described as a mix of between tag and hide-and-seek. Derek learned it when he was young and then played it when he helped his mother teach the younger children learn to control the shift. Harrison wasn't able to do more than flash his eyes or use his claws, and Derek didn’t think he would be able to do more until he was at least a few years older. The pack was keeping an open mind to any possibility; a son of Scott most likely wasn’t going to follow any preconceived rules.

Melissa and Esther returned a little later. Esther needed to pick up some paperwork from the library she worked at, she also picked up a rare-ish book on mythology she requested from another library and thought Stiles would want to read. Melissa came back with groceries bags full of enough food for ten people. When they got back to the house, they checked on Ava and Charlie, then joined the others outside. Stiles gave Melissa his seat on the blanket and went to help Esther while she taught Derek and Harrison a game from her childhood. After ten minutes, Stiles decided that Esther’s game was something best left to the werewolves.

One by one the rest of the pack members convened in the backyard. Allison, who was greeted enthusiastically by her son, and the Sheriff showed up first followed shortly by Boyd. He kissed his wife in greeting and then disappeared into the house when he heard his daughter wake up. Scott tumbled in a couple minutes after that and was nearly knocked over when Harrison tackled his father’s legs. Stiles counted it a win when neither of the boy’s parents commented on the fact that their son was covered head to toe in dirt and grass stains.

Isaac was the last to join the group. He looked upset about something and claimed a tough day at work. His mood improved when Ava was in his arms. Derek allowed his Beta some time to be alone with his daughter.

When Isaac rejoined his pack, Melissa brought out food for lunch. Everyone was in high spirits while they sat in a loose circle talking and laughing with one another. Most of the group was finished eating when Allison spoke up above the rest of pack.

“I told you guys earlier that my dad had a lead on the hunter that killed Ava’s mother.” She paused when most of the werewolves bristled. “Well, he called me yesterday to say that he had found him, apparently he knew my dad was coming for him, and he ran.”

Murmurs went around the group but stopped when Allison continued.

“My dad tracked and followed him...back towards Beacon Hills.”


	7. To Stand Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning- near the end there is talk of prostitution and some other stuff that goes along with it, so just take caution while reading.

Instead of whispers, everyone practically shouted over one another. Isaac hunched over Ava in his arms and visibly turned green. Derek pulled the man closer to him until their sides were flushed; Stiles leaned across Derek’s lap to also share physical contact with Isaac.

Scott made eye contact with Derek and the Sheriff, then nodded his head with confidence.

Silence fell when Scott address the pack. “It doesn’t matter why he came back to our territory, or if he will try to hurt us. We’ll be ready. Allison, can you call your father and get an update?”

She nodded her head and silently left the group.

“Someone should tell Danny and Ethan.”

“I’ll do it,” said Lydia. She followed Allison inside the house.

 

 

Stiles flopped face down onto his and Derek’s bed. “I missed this so much. The bed, not, having to worry about the next threat.”

Derek was silent as he toed off his boots and sat on the edge of the bed next to Stiles, he held his head in his hands.

It had been a long rest of the day.

When the girls returned from the house, Scott and Derek decided it would be best for everyone to go to their own houses for the night.

Allison relayed that her father had the hunter under constant surveillance and couldn’t do anything without alerting him, but Derek countered it would be easier to surprise them while they were all together. He knew from first hand experience.

Everyone helped clean up from their meal before leaving to complete their tasks (if one was assigned to them). Scott took Boyd and Isaac to meet Ethan on the edge of the preserve to double check the boundaries. Isaac was slightly reluctant to leave Ava in Derek’s capable hands, but eventually agreed. Normally Allison, Parrish, and the Sheriff would restock the weapons with wolfsbane and mountain ash, but this time the monster was human; they loaded the guns with regular bullets instead. Eventually the pack left for their own homes.

Derek and Stiles drove Lydia to the airport after Isaac came back from his perimeter check. Stiles was torn between being sad and relieved that Lydia would be halfway across the country in the morning. He was sad because she had become a reliable partner in whatever problem for battle the pack faced; relieved because she always had a target on her back for her Banshee abilities.

“Have you heard or felt anything, Lydia?” he asked quietly a few minutes into the car ride. Over the years, Lydia managed to gain some kind of control over her abilities and wasn’t afraid of giving into her instinct.

“Nothing substantial. I can feel something coming soon, though. I think it is going to happen around us, but not to us. I think we’re safe this time.”

Derek took a hand off the steering wheel and offered it to Stiles in the passenger seat. He squeezed his hand reassuringly, and some tension Stiles didn’t even know he had melted away. They, out of the whole pack, had learned the hard way about trusting Lydia when it came to death. The last time either of them didn’t listen to her, Stiles almost ended up dead. No one wished to repeat it.

“If anything changes, even the slightest bit you’ll call. Right?”

Lydia met Stiles’s eyes in the rear view mirror. “When have I not?”

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence. Derek grabbed Lydia’s bags, and the couple escorted her as far as they were allowed in the airport. Stiles gave her a quick hug and made her reaffirm her promise to show up for breakfast in a couple weeks. Derek gave her a small smile and nodded his head once. Lydia repeated the gesture, took her bags from him, and walked further into the airport. She was one of the few to have mastered Derek’s non-verbal language.

The trip back to Beacon Hills happened in the blink of an eye for Stiles, and the next thing he knew, he was crawling into bed not unlike the night of his birthday a month before.

The room was quiet for a moment until Stiles got too restless. “Wanna come join me under the covers?”

Derek didn’t move or reply. He looked like a stone statue bathed in the moonlight streaming in from the parted curtains. After a few more seconds Derek turned to look at Stiles, his voiced filled with pain.

“I’m...I thought I was ready.”

“For what, Derek?” Stiles sat up face to face with the other man.

“To protect the pack. To rebuild my family’s house. To be finished healing." Derek paused. "I’m still afraid it will never happen.”

“No, Derek, look at me.” Stiles waited until he could see Derek’s eyes. “I know you’re ready and I know you deserve this. Look how far we’ve come and what all we’ve had to face since Scott got bit, and you decided to follow your sister back to Beacon Hills. It hasn’t been easy, I still have nightmares about what the nogitsune made me do, but I eventually figured out that healing is a process. It just doesn’t happen overnight. Our pack has had to face more things than anyone else will face in a hundred lifetimes and we’ve survived all of it. Because of you.”

Derek still looked pained. “That was Scott’s-”

“And who taught Scott once he got it in his stubborn head that he needed help? Who helped to gather a rag-tag group and make us a real pack? Scott might be a ‘True Alpha’ but he’s got nothing on you, babe.” Stiles lifted his arms up to offer Derek the contact he knew Derek needed.

Derek let out a breath and melted into Stiles embrace.

They stayed quiet the rest of the night. Comfortable enough to stay clinging to each other until they fell prey to sleep.

 

 

A phone ringing woke them both up; it was Scott calling.

_“The hunter is here and wants to negotiate with the pack.”_

Stiles took the phone from Derek, “Okay, we can work with that. Get the kids to my dad and Melissa, and see if Parrish is able to watch the house. Then make sure the hunter's on neutral ground.”

_“Everyone is getting ready, but there is a problem.”_

Derek took the phone back to talk to the other Alpha.

_“He wants Ava.”_

The next few minutes were filled with lots of yelling on both sides of the conversation. Scott thought it best to pretend to agree with the hunter's terms and bring him Ava, get him to confess to killing her mother, and then let Allison and Chris handle him. Derek and Stiles really hated the plan. Stiles argued that they could still do everything and have Ava as far away from potential danger as possible. Derek just wanted the hunter to leave them alone.

In the end, Scott won and a plan was set. Scott and Derek would accompany Isaac, who would be holding Ava, to try to negotiate with the hunter. Boyd, Esther, Ethan, and Stiles were to be strategically placed around the clearing far enough away from everything to not pose as a treat, but still close to help if things turned sour. Allison would be high in one of the trees looking out for everyone below, and Chris volunteered to recheck and secure the perimeter. Danny agreed to be behind the scenes gathering any and all incriminating evidence against the hunter.

When everyone gathered in the neutral zone on the far side of the preserve tension fell heavy in the air. The hunter entered first, then after a few seconds, Isaac emerged from the shadows flanked protectively by the two Alphas. The rest of the pack waited to follow.

Ava was fussing in Isaac’s arms and had been all morning. Derek said she was feeding off stress and worry from Isaac, and it was taking all of his concentration to keep her from wailing.

Stiles was starting to fidget too. He had seen terrible, horrible things in his life, but nothing was as scary as how normal the man waiting for them look. He looked like someone you wouldn’t think about twice if you passed him on the street: average build and height, average hair, average looking clothing. From what Chris told them, Stiles was expecting something much more sinister.

“This is a nice little pack you guys have here.” The man’s eerily smooth voice set the pack on edge.

Scott politely nodded, but Derek remained still and calm. The calm Stiles knew meant Derek was raging beneath the surface and waiting for an opportunity to attack.

“But I do have to admit I was expecting a little more. From all the rumors about the pack in Beacon Hills I thought everyone would at least be older.”

Surprisingly Derek answered, “I can assure you that this pack is stable, and whatever it lacks in numbers or age makes up in the ability to defend against any threats made to us. Now, I think it’s time to talk about why you are here.”

“Ah, yes." The hunter slid his eyes from Derek to the blanket wrapped bundle in Isaac's arms. "This pack has something that belongs to me and I want it back. Her mother belonged to me, so her kid is mine now too.”

“I won’t let you take her away from me,” said Isaac. Scott took a microscopic step in front of him.

“I never said she was necessarily biologically mine,” the hunter slowly smirked. “You see Grace- it was Grace, wasn’t it?- was one of my girls, and one of my best sellers. It was easy enough to get an omega’d Alpha to turn young girls picked up off the street. Not all of them make it, of course, but then when they do survive, and they’re drugged with a bit of wolfsbane it gets harder for them to say no. The fast healing helps a lot too.

“And like I said before, the little slut’s _slip up_ belongs to me, and since I never gave up rights to her, according to your silly werewolf laws, she still belongs to me. Who knows? That baby might make me even more lucrative. I could blackmail the rich clients, or even just raise it in the business. If she’s anything like her mother, she’ll do just fine.”

Stiles was relieved he was able to enact the last part of the plan. He took a couple steps forward and called out to Allison, “I think we have enough now.”

She swung gracefully down to the ground to the right of the hunter, and aimed an arrow at his head. “Derek, Scott, ready?”

Instantly the two men shifted into their beta forms and the hunter drew the gun that he had concealed in his waistband. The pack along the treeline surged and formed a protective barrier around Stiles, Isaac, and Ava.

The hunter now looked manic. “I really didn’t want to kill anyone today.”

“Neither did we,” said Scott.

The pack spurred into action, but no one reached the hunter before Allison hit her target.

 

 

It helped having the Sheriff and Parrish in the pack. The investigation was passed off as self defense. A crazy man trying to kidnap a baby girl while a group of friends spent the day in the woods. It had also helped that the whole conversation was recorded (edited a bit by Danny to exclude anything werewolf) and the fact that the man was the head of the largest supernatural prostitution ring in Oregon and Washington.

Danny went back to his apartment to go through all the information he’d gathered again to make sure he hadn’t missed anything; Ethan followed him. The rest of the pack gathered at the old McCall house. Stiles stopped to call Lydia and explain what happened before joining all the cuddling in the living room. They were all affect by what the hunter, the monster, had said.  The children of the pack were wordlessly held closer by their parents. Stiles tried to get most of his body touching Derek, and Derek willingly let him. When the Sheriff and Melissa got home, Melissa gave everyone a motherly kiss on the forehead. The Sheriff opted to simply ruffle his son’s hair and pat his future son-in-law on the shoulder.

The pair disappeared into the kitchen together to get started on dinner.


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year later...

“Stiles, you need to get up.”

The man rolled over and groaned into his pillow. “Just give me five more minutes. Please.”

Derek huffed and set on the edge of the bed next to his soon-to-be husband. “If you don’t leave this bed in the next two minutes you’re going to be late to work.”

“But it’s the last day of school.”

“Which means you still have eighteen third graders depending on you to show up on time to school. And if I remember correctly you promised your class a cake. The same one you spent all night making.”

Stiles sighed dramatically while he untangled himself from the bed’s sheets. As he headed towards the bathroom for a quick shower, Derek stood up and wrapped his arms securely around Stiles. He pressed light kisses onto Stiles’s bare shoulders and neck. 

“After today, you can sleep in as late as you want.” 

Stiles leaned back against the open door frame of the ensuite bathroom. “Yeah, for a couple of months until school starts again.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining. You love to teach and you love your class.”

Stiles rushed into Derek’s space and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Not as much as I love you.” Then he darted into the bathroom and started to get ready for the day.

By the time Stiles made his way downstairs, Derek had breakfast made ready and was cleaning up the rest of the kitchen

“Have I ever told you how amazing you are, Derek?” He sat down to his plate food and a cup of fresh coffee waiting for the older man to join him. 

Derek looked at Stiles over his shoulder from his place at the sink, “Yes, multiple times especially, during sex when I-”

Stiles choked on his mouthful of food. “Now is not the best time to talk about that.”

Derek turned back around to finish washing the dishes, but Stiles knew he was smiling smugly to himself. The man cleaned the last few dirty plates then joined Stiles at the small breakfast table off to the side of the kitchen.

“So what are your plans for today?” asked Stiles. Most days he already knew the answer, but he always asked out of habit. 

Derek swallowed his sip of coffee. “I planned to run the perimeter of the pack’s territory so no one has to do it later tonight. Lydia wanted to have lunch to discuss a few details about the wedding.”

“Sounds like I’m missing out on all the fun stuff.” Stiles laughed when Derek raised an eyebrow. 

“Our wedding is less than a month away. Would you rather deal with the person you chose to plan everything.”

He laughed more. “No, I’m more than okay not handling Lydia while she yells at everyone.” 

Stiles looked at the clock on the stove and saw he only had a couple minutes before he needed to be out of the house. He wanted to get to the elementary school a little earlier than normal to set up for the awesome party he had planned for the last day of school. Stiles rushed around making sure all his things for work were in the car and that the cake for the kids was secured along with the rest of the more fragile supplies. Derek worked smoothly beside Stiles making sure he didn’t forget anything or make a mess. 

A few minutes later Stiles was sitting in the jeep ready to go, waiting for Derek to come out of the house for one last goodbye before. He lit up the moment he saw Derek step outside with a travel mug and a lunch container in his hands. 

“You forgot your lunch and extra coffee.” He passed them through the window to Stiles. “Isaac and Esther both took the day off from work and should be over to help set up for the full moon sometime after I meet with Lydia. The rest of the pack is coming over later tonight.”

“Okay. I should be home by four, earlier if there’s not much to clean up.” Stiles leaned towards Derek for a kiss.

“Get to work Stiles.”

“I’ll call you when I’m on my lunch break.”

“Go.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me to stay and help out here?”

Derek rolled his eyes at Stiles. “No. I’ll be fine and you need to get to school.”

“Okay, okay. I’m going.” Stiles started to pull out of the spot the Jeep was typically parked in before stopping to call out to Derek. “Love you!”

The other man shook his head fondly as he watched Stiles continue down the long driveway through the forest. “I love you too, Stiles.”

\----

It was a bittersweet moment for Stiles when the last of his third graders gave him a hug goodbye. 

His first year of teaching was interesting. The summer after Stiles officially graduated, he started sending out applications to most of the elementary schools in and around Beacon County. Surprisingly the first school to reply had been the same one Stiles had attended as a child. Even with the school downsizing in staff, many of the teachers retired or left for another school, leaving it in high demand for new teachers to fill the numerous vacancies. Stiles was just extremely grateful to have a stable job so quickly after leaving college. He had heard horror stories about not finding a job from others with an education degree. 

For being so new to teaching relatively young children, Stiles liked to think he had a pretty natural talent, though he wasn’t completely opposed to moving up to a higher grade some day in the future. 

He had become quite close to his group of eighteen students. Throughout the school year they had learned together, laughed together, and had fun together. Stiles was proud to send them off to the fourth grade, and he knew each and everyone of them was more than prepared. He was also proud of himself for not crying when the release bell rang sending the children home for the summer. And as much as was going to miss the first class of students he had ever taught on his own, Stiles was ready to go home to Derek. 

Clean up was fast and since he wasn’t scheduled to move classrooms for the next school year most of the stuff could be left at the school over the summer. The rest could be taken home over the course of the first week of summer when Stiles would need to return for post-school year planning and filling out paper work. 

Before leaving the school, Stiles sent a text to Derek saying he was on the way home. Derek responded a short minute later and let Stiles know that Allison had come over to the house with Esther and Isaac. He also warned Stiles to be quiet when he went inside because they had just gotten Harrison, Ava, and Charlie down for a much needed nap in the living room.

Stiles smiled at the image of Derek trying to get the three pack children to fall asleep, locked up his classroom, and set off towards home. 

\----

Sometimes Stiles had to pause for a moment when he pulled up to the rebuilt Hale house. The house that Derek promised to build for him, for the pack; the house that Stiles now got to call home. Sometimes it was just a little overwhelming. 

Stiles had a few memories of what the house that Derek grew up in looked like before the fire, but mostly all Stiles could think about was the burnt out shell that stood neglected for years out in the Preserve. When Derek first talked about rebuilding the house (once he got the land back from the county), Stiles was concerned, but he knew it was really an act of Derek forgiving himself for what happened and allowing himself to be happy again. 

Many of the characteristics of the old house had been kept intact as much as possible in the rebuilt version, but some things had to be changed to accommodate the needs of the Hale-McCall pack. Derek had drawn up all the designs for the exterior and layout on his own and later helped Stiles and Lydia decorate the inside. No expense was spared and the end result was a hard-won dream come true. It was a physical representation of healing after a life of pain and hurt.

Most importantly, it was perfect spot to hold pack meetings and to raise a family in. 

The house was finished in December, and Derek and Stiles were able to move in a few weeks before Christmas. 

When Derek mentioned holding their wedding ceremony and reception in the backyard, Stiles had no objections. That event was still a few weeks away and the backyard was currently being set up for the pack’s monthly full moon run.

Stiles snuck in through the front door and made sure to take his shoes off so his steps wouldn't echo on the hardwood floors. Napping baby werewolves were not to be woken up. That was a lesson everyone learn quickly after the first child of the pack was born. When Stiles got to his and Derek's bedroom, he changed out of his nice work clothes and into more comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. He then navigated as quietly as he could back down to the main level of the house towards the doors that opened to the backyard. 

The back patio ran the length of the house and included a short set of stairs that lead down to a wide grassy clearing in which the house was built in the center of. Stiles could see Derek (with help from Isaac) stringing fairy lights across the branches of trees that lined the edge of the forest. Esther and Allison were busy setting up tables that would soon be cover in food a little farther down from where Stiles was standing. 

“Are you sure you should be doing that, Allison?” asked Stiles. 

The woman in question stopped and crossed her arms around her front. “I’m two months pregnant, not invalid.”

Stiles threw his hands up in feigned innocence. “Don’t let Scott catch you. You know as soon as he gets here, he’ll be hovering right behind you the entire night.” He greeted the each woman with a kiss on the cheek. 

Allison laughed. “That’s why I’m doing it now.”

“I would feel like a terrible best friend if I didn’t at least mention it.” 

“I’m fine, everything’s fine. Esther and I have it covered up here.” She nodded her head over to the other woman who acknowledged Allison’s statement. “You can go help the guys.” 

By the time Stiles got over to Derek and Isaac, Derek looked like he was about to pounce on him. He wrapped Stiles in a tight hug as soon as he was an arm’s length away.

“As nice as this is, Derek, I-”

“You smell too much like other people.” He subtly shifted his nosed closer to the crease of Stiles’s neck. 

“Some of the moms were a little extra friendly this afternoon, but that doesn’t mean-”

Derek interrupted Stiles again. “They shouldn’t be touching you.”

“Look we’ve talked about this.” Stiles was amused by Derek’s protectiveness.

“I know.”

“You have way more important things to worry about than me running off with a middle aged divorced woman who can’t keep her hands to herself, like helping to protect and lead this pack.” He let Derek hold onto him for a few more seconds before he wriggled out of his grasp to say hello to Isaac. 

The three of them quickly returned to work after that, though the extent of Stiles’s job was sitting in the cool shade and testing strands of lights for Isaac and Derek to hang up. When everything was finished all the adults convened to the chairs on the back porch and chatted softly about the plans for the rest of the night until a hungry cry signaled to everyone that nap time was over. 

Derek was the first one to snap to attention. “Do you want me to handle it?”

“No, I’ll do it,” said Esther. She gracefully stood up and made sure Derek didn’t follow her into the house. “You watch the three of them almost every single day while the rest of us are at work. It’s time for you to have a day off.”

It was kinda funny how Derek became the babysitter for the pack (not that Derek and Stiles ever minded having Harrison, Ava, and Charlie at the house a lot).

A couple days after the new Hale house had been completed, Derek mentioned off-handedly that the house was too quiet while he worked from home and Stiles was at the elementary school. Isaac had been the first one to ask Derek if he was willing to watch Ava. Soon Charlie and Harrison followed, meaning that there was at least one pack child at the house during the weekdays or the occasional weekend. 

There were enough empty rooms in the house that one right next to Derek’s office had been converted into a playroom, and a bedroom upstairs now housed a few spare cribs and extra children’s clothes. Half their pantry and refrigerator was dedicated to toddler friendly snacks even though Stiles knew Derek prefered to make all their meals from scratch with all organic fruits and vegetables (there had even been talks about starting a garden in the backyard to grown their own food). Stiles also knew Derek enjoyed his responsibilities and never complained about caring for the children, no matter how chaotic it got watching three children under four. And when Derek was happy, Stiles was happy too. 

Everyone was more comfortable with the Alpha babysitting than a stranger anyways. The children meant everything to the pack, especially to Derek. To him they were the pack’s most precious assets. He would never let anything bad ever happen to them. Then there was the chance of uncontrolled shifting in public which couldn’t be risked. Derek had helped the young ones, especially Harrison, gain more control over their flashing eyes and sharp claws, but accidents still happened.

Esther came back outside a few minutes later with Ava and Charlie on a hip and Harrison trailing behind her. Each child held an individual cup of Derek’s homemade applesauce and a spoon, and as soon as Harrison and Ava were with their own parents, they began to sleepily eat. When they were done, the young children were cleaned up and placed in the backyard to run around. 

Even though they were still young, the children’s personalities were starting to show more. It was obvious that Harrison would grow up to be an Alpha when Scott died. He was protective and always trying to keep watch over the two younger ones. Charlie was simply a happy child and like to babble and was always crawling everywhere. Ava was the opposite; she preferred to be held by someone and was usually very calm. 

With the children awake, all that was left to do was to wait for the rest of the pack to arrive at the house. 

The night’s full moon gathering had been one of the smallest in a while. Attendance depended on the pull of the moon, work schedules, and whoever happened to be in town at the time. 

Sometimes it was weird having so much of the pack not in Beacon Hills. After high school, Malia and Kira decided to go on a little trip of self discovery together and eventually ran into Cora in Mexico where the three of them have lived for the past couple years. Then during Stiles’s first summer back home after graduating, Danny found out that his extended family in Hawaii were members of the islands’ oldest werewolf pack. A few weeks and a couple discussions with Scott and Derek later, Danny and Ethan moved out to Hawaii and joined the other pack. At least Lydia was able to seize an opportunity come back home. She was awarded a generous amount of research grants and was able to move her research to a lab closer to Beacon Hills. She also found a job as a professor at a local university where she happily flaunted her intellect around others and made the professors in her department (and others too) look like idiots. 

Stiles was just glad everyone would be back, even if it was just for the weekend, for the wedding.

He looked at Derek sitting beside him while the other man watched the rest of the pack as they interacted waiting for the sun to fully set. “We’re getting married on the next full moon.”

Derek turned his attention towards Stiles and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Yes. What about it?”

“It’ll be our first full moon as a married couple.”

“Do you not want to get married next month?”

Stiles sat straight up in his lawn chair. “No! I was stating the fact that we’ve been together for what? Eight years now? and have spent a lot of full moons together even before we started dating. But on the full moon we’ll be getting married and by that night we’ll be officially mated or whatever it’s called for werewolves.”

“Married will be a perfectly acceptable term for our relationship. Mating is usually more private and intimate ritual,” Derek smirked. “that involves a lot more nudity. If that’s okay with you?”

“I would never refuse the chance to have sex.”

“Oh God, I don’t want to hear this.” Stiles jumped when he heard his father speak. “I was sent to tell you two the that everyone is ready to eat, but it looks like I’m interrupting something. Feel free to join the rest of us when you’re finished. 

Stiles groaned but stood up when Derek offered a hand. They followed the smells of food and the sounds of laughter that lead to where that pack was waiting for them. 

\----

The Sheriff opened the door with a knock. “Are you ready, Stiles?”

Stiles nodded then checked his reflection for a last time in the guest bedroom’s mirror. 

“Nervous?”

He stopped himself before he could mess up his bowtie. “Not really. I’m just ready to get all these formalities done with already.”

Stiles took a quick peek out of the window. The whole wedding was kept as small as possible, with children and plus ones included there was only around fifty people in attendance.

Most of the guests were chatting to each other in their seats; members of the pack who weren’t making sure everything was in place (Lydia and Allison) or part of the wedding party (Cora and Scott) filled the front rows. A Justice of the Peace was standing at the front of the guests, and a fancy string quartet were tuning their instruments (Lydia insisted Derek and Stiles were above both a wedding band and DJ). Stiles could pick out Satomi and a few of her highest Betas discussing something with Deaton. Esther’s parents were entertaining their granddaughter while they talked to Isaac and a few other members of the pack. 

It meant a lot to Derek that Esther’s mother and father, a quite respected Alpha that had once known Talia, accepted the invitation to the wedding. 

“Okay, let’s go.”

Stiles took comfort in the presence of his father as he allowed himself to be lead downstairs to meet with the rest of the wedding party at the back porch door. Cora looked beautiful in her grey dress and Scott was buzzing with excitement for his best friend. Derek was crouched in front of Harrison and was trying to reinforce his instructions on what to do when it was his turn to go outside.

The Sheriff gave Derek and Stiles each a hug before slipping outside to take his seat next to Melissa. 

When the music started to play, Scott escorted Cora down the aisle then went to their respected spots as best man and best sister of the grooms. Derek and Stiles agreed to have only those two as part of the wedding party. Cora was Derek’s last living relative (not counting Peter) and Scott was considered Stiles’s brother in every way but blood. Then it was Harrison’s turn to carry the rings down the aisle and give one to Scott and the other to Cora; he stood next to his father when his job was done. Harrison had done the best a three year old could ever hope to do, though a quiet chuckle rippled through the guests when Cora and Scott had to switch their rings. 

Finally the music changed again, and it was time for Derek and Stiles to walk down the aisle together. It was a little untraditional but it worked for them. 

Stiles caught glimpses of the proud faces of his pack and saw the rest of the guests looked just as happy. He tightened his grip on Derek’s arm and he felt a comforting squeeze back. At the end of the aisle, they stopped and faced each other but never let go of each other’s hands. 

Stiles was too busy staring at Derek to bother listening to the Justice of the Peace drone on during his introductory speech; he only jumped to attention when it was time for the vows. 

“Derek and Stiles have prepared their own vows. Stiles you can begin.” The man motioned for Stiles to start. 

“Derek Hale, from the moment I saw you in the woods sophomore year I was gone. I didn’t exactly realize it at the time, but you were the one only I was meant to be with. And from that moment on, no matter how many times you left- for your sister or for yourself, you always came back, back to me.” Stiles paused to take a deep breathe and to try to slow his heart. “Derek, you’ve been fighting by my side these last few years, so now I promise to always fight with you and for you. I’ll do everything in my power to never let you feel alone again.”

Stiles took the gold wedding band offered by Scott and slipped it onto Derek’s finger. “I love you.” He locked eyes with Derek when the man in front of him started his personal vows. 

“Stiles Stilinski, after the fire I thought I could never be happy again. But then I met you, a loud and kinda spastic kid-”

“Hey!” Stiles playfully interjected. Derek looked at him affectionately. 

“Who showed me that even after so much pain it was possible to find happiness and love. You, Stiles, gave me hope of a better future and made me trust again. You made me step up and be the leader I needed to be. I promise to protect you until my last breath and to love you the way you deserve to be loved.” 

Cora handed him Stiles’s ring so Derek could repeat the other man’s gestures. “I love you.” 

The focus was turned to the Justice of the Peace. “With the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husbands. You may now kiss.”

Stiles didn't hesitate in pulling Derek close and kissing him. The kiss wasn’t much different from the ones they shared before but this time it seemed to hold more weight behind it. Clapping and cheers erupted from the crowd. Stiles could hear Scott whooping behind him. 

He smiled against Derek’s lips. “We’re husbands now.”

Derek smiled back. “I think that’s the whole point.”

\----

Guests that were weren’t pack were ushered to the front yard where caterers had set up for dinner during the ceremony. The others stayed in the backyard for pictures. Time flew as everyone got their chance to have a picture with the newlyweds with the bright green forest acting as a natural backdrop. Some of the best pictures the photographer took were when no one was paying attention to the camera. By the time Derek and Stiles made their way around to the front, the sun was starting to dip in the sky. 

The rest of the night was a blur. There was laughter, happy tears, congratulations, and a very memorable best man speech given by Scott. Stiles even managed to not trip during the first dance with Derek. 

More and more guest politely said goodbye to the happy couple the darker it got until only pack members were left at the house. 

Stiles had remained close to Derek for most of the night, but when the man stepped away to direct the caterers on what needed to be put up, he took the opportunity to find Lydia and tell her something funny that was said earlier in the night. Instead of just finding Lydia, Stiles stumbled upon her and Parrish in an intense make-out session behind a tree. 

They didn’t even notice Stiles’s presence until he burst into laughter and ran away shouting, “I knew it! And about time too!”

Stiles came across Isaac and Cora first back in the clearing. He was starting to tell them the news about Lydia and Parrish but stopped when he saw Ava sound asleep on Cora’s shoulder. 

“Let me take her inside so Stiles can get out whatever he needs so badly to say,” said Cora. 

“Are you sure?” Isaac reached out to grab his daughter from Cora. “ I could take her.” 

“It’s fine. I got her.” She walked toward the house to lay Ava down with Charlie and Harrison. Surprisingly she had been the last one to fall asleep. 

“So, Lydia and Parrish finally got together.”

Isaac turned his attention away from the house. “Good for them. It took them almost as long as you and Derek.”

“Ha ha, no. It actually took them way longer. I thought they’d start dating after we graduated high school, but I guess that didn’t happen.” Stiles caught Isaac looking back towards the house again. “What were you and Cora talking about?”

“We were talking about Mexico and much Kira and Malia liked it down there. The Cora mentioned that she was planning to move back to Beacon Hills soon.”

“That’s great! Derek will be to be happy to have Cora closer. I know he’s really missed her.”

“Yeah, I’ve missed her too...I mean the whole pack has missed her.”

Stiles eyed Isaac suspiciously “Dude, do you have crush on Cora?”

“No, Stiles. And keep your voice down.” Isaac’s blush was giving his true feelings away. “I can’t. Not right now, not when I have Ava to think about.”

“Cora loves Ava! I watched her the entire night, and she totally adores your daughter. That means the whole having a baby thing won’t be problem.”

“But she is Derek’s sister.”

“Again, not a huge deal. You’re probably Derek’s favorite, behind me of course. Look you don’t have to do anything right this moment, but who knows? She could feel the exact same way.”

Isaac and Stiles looked around to see if anyone had been listening into their conversation. “Okay. Can we keep this between between us? At least for the moment?”

“Sure.” 

Cora came came back over to them, and Stiles noticed Isaac’s face light up subtly the closer she got. 

“I’m just gonna leave you two here to go tell everyone else about Lydia and Parrish making out behind a tree. Have a nice night!”

When he walked away, he heard Cora ask Isaac if there was a reason why Stiles was acting even weirder than normal. Unfortunately Stiles wasn’t able to hear a response. 

\-----

It was strange to have the house so quiet after all the excitement of the wedding. As fun as the night had been and as much as Stiles wanted everyone to stay longer, eventually even the pack had to go to their own houses for the rest of the night. 

Derek and Stiles sat facing each other in the center of their bed. 

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Yes, Stiles. I even made sure to go over the process again with Deaton earlier. Creating a mating bond is not very complicated.”

Stiles took a moment to soak in the beautiful sight of Derek in the soft glow provided by the full moon outside. 

“Ready?” asked Derek. 

Stiles smiled at his husband. “As I’ll ever be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have finally made it to the end. I went back and edited the other chapters for major mistakes and to make everything slightly more canon compliant. 
> 
> A big Thanks! to everyone who has read this, especially those who have stuck with this fic since the very beginning. You guys are so patient. 
> 
> P.S. I have an idea for a sequel and would love to some feedback/comments


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